GC 2Q1903

[Borys]

 25 April 1903

"Gentlemen", President Alizandro began, "I want to discuss our current defence situation - hence the presence of Admiral Ruiz and General Falcon." The two military men nodded to the civilian members of the cabinet, who nodded back.

"As I see it, we will not endure any significant issues stemming from Cuba. A once powerful Spain is now two smaller, war-weary Spains, unlikely to cooperate with each other, and not in a strong position to challenge us for it. It helps that Senor Delgado was able to ensure that the acquisition had a semblance of legality to it. Your thoughts?"

Benicio Delgado adjusted his reading glasses and said, "I would suggest that we contact the PESN through the back door and inform them that the current status quo suits us enough that our publicity campaign against Juan will stop. For now, at least."

"That's acceptable."

Ricardo Alizandro chipped in, "Apart from the diplomatic efforts, we're working to build a stronger military presence in Cuba. This includes a significant fortress at Havana and two corps of troops, which ought to be adequate to turn back any invasion force. The naval force there is adequate for the time-being, and will be supplemented by torpedo-boat destroyers."

"Good."

Foreign Minister Torres leaned forward and looked at the president. "We've not yet initiated diplomatic relations with Aragon-Navarra, but this would help defuse their displeasure over Cuba. I don't sense that Carlos will seek to regain Cuba by force, but one can't be sure what ideas the Austrians may be planting in his head."

"We'll do that", Enrico agreed. "Any other comments? No? Very well, we'll consider that resolved. What's the consensus on the next crisis we face?"

A mix of "France", "Brazil", and "Anahuac" was the jumbled response; the one exception was Admiral Ruiz, who said, "Turbine-driven capital ships."

"Admiral, we'll come back to your point later", Enrico said. "France, the Anahuac, and Brazil. Collectively, a daunting problem. France wants to delay our canal for reasons of petty pride. Brazil wants to be free of their incompetent rule and the threat of the Anahuac. The Anahuac, as always, want power. We thus find ourselves in one corner of a four-way struggle. Benicio?"

"It is definitely complicated, Senor President. We and the Brazilians are not directly in conflict, but there are some ways we'd prefer to see their troubles conclude, and others we would prefer not to see. The latter would include a communist government or, worse, Anahuac control. This latter option is a possibility, as my sources have told me that the French are considering accepting an offer of Anahuac peacekeeping troops to help in Brazil.

"This demonstrates that the Anahuac are doing a good job of convincing the French that they're friends, while actually playing the French off against the Brazilians. French troops are fighting Brazilian rebels, weakening both. Meanwhile, the Anahuac are, other than the incidents at the canal, not antagonizing us; our troops have managed to occupy much of Roraima and Amazonas, leaving a substantial buffer zone around the Anahuac city."

"So how do we approach this? There is no single key to this", Enrico commented.

"What's our desired result?", asked Rey Alizandro.

"A friendly regime in Brazil, peaceful relations with France, and the removal of Anahuac military power from the continent", the president answered.

"Can we turn the French against the Anahuac?", asked Minister Torres.

"Possibly, either in a voluntary way, by convincing them it's a sour relationship, or involuntarily, by using public opinion and diplomatic pressure to force them away", responded Delgado.

"Can we turn the Brazilians against the Anahuac?", Torres added.

Delgado replied, "Yes - but that requires that we find a way to make the Anahuac's existence public without incurring French wrath. They have made threats in that regard."

"Can we just remove the Anahuac from the picture?", demanded Industry Minister de Soto.

"That's my proposal", Ricardo Alizandro noted. "Send ten divisions in and slaughter every last one of them." De Soto blanched at the words. "Don't go all weak-kneed on me. I'm serious", Ricardo said. "Right now, they are limited in numbers and capacity. This is the time for a final solution to the Anahuac problem."

The debate continued for some time, with President Alizandro finally cutting it off. "We'll talk further on the matter - for now, I want you all to be thinking about how to deal with it. Admiral - you mentioned turbines. Care to elaborate?"

Admiral Ruiz nodded. "Thank you, Sir. A new method of ship propulsion - the turbine - has started to find its way into warships around the world in the past two years. These ships are, compared to their conventionally driven counterparts, a good three to four knots faster on the same displacement. The machinery is also more reliable and can work at higher power for longer periods.

"Currently, a number of nations are at the point that they can install turbines in protected cruisers and smaller vessels. The UKA is the only nation we know to have reliable turbines sufficient for larger ships, but other nations are actively working to change that. This is the area that concerns me, as we know of at least four nations that are planning to build large turbine-driven capital ships. Our own capital ships would be incapable of catching them, leaving our trade lines vulnerable and jeopardizing our ability to win the scouting battle in a match of battlelines."

"Who are we talking about?", asked de Soto.

"France, the UKA, Russia, and the DKB", Ruiz rattled off. "The French appear to be pursuing an improvement on their existing large protected cruisers by using the weight savings from turbine use for additional firepower. The UKA is following the Swiss example and building a 'battleship-cruiser' with battleship guns, armored cruiser protection, and high speed. The Russians are building a marginally faster but much larger and heavily armed ship. The Brandenburgers are opting for another battleship-cruiser with more emphasis on armor and firepower."

"That sounds like another one of the complex situations with no single cure", Rey Alizandro observed.

"It is. However, we're less concerned with the Russians and Brandenburgers, neither of whom have significant interests nor obvious conflicts in this region. It's primarily the French we have to watch for, and perhaps the UKA."

"What's the proposed approach?", asked the president.

"We're gradually developing our own turbine expertise, helped by some technology we gained from the Swiss two years ago. A class of four torpedo-boat destroyers now under way will be the first to use them; we propose to move up to a small cruiser next year, and then our own response to the fast capital ships later in 1903 or 1904. The catch is that we don't yet have the expertise to produce the turbines for that response - though we are working on some short-cuts."

Ruiz unrolled a large sheet of paper that had been sitting beside his chair all this time. "This is our current plan: an improved Campeon-class armored cruiser, capable of speeds up to..."
   
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swamphen    
Posted: Oct 11 2006, 09:27 PM


Großeadmiral Sumpfhühn
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QUOTE (The Rock Doctor @ Oct 11 2006, 09:12 PM)
"Can we just remove the Anahuac from the picture?", demanded Industry Minister de Soto.

"That's my proposal", Ricardo Alizandro noted. "Send ten divisions in and slaughter every last one of them." De Soto blanched at the words. "Don't go all weak-kneed on me. I'm serious", Ricardo said. "Right now, they are limited in numbers and capacity. This is the time for a final solution to the Anahuac problem."

huh.gif
   
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The Rock Doctor    
Posted: Oct 11 2006, 09:42 PM


Hegemon
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Ricardo's not one for subtlety or moderation...

(and if that phrasing should prove offensive to any readers, I'll certainly modify it. The point is to illlustrate that the Gran Colombian government is quite unethical, some officials more than others.)
   
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Ithekro    
Posted: Oct 11 2006, 09:49 PM


King of Rohan
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(Rohan would almost agree with Ricardo Alizandro save that the problem is not the Anahuac, but the influence of the Eye. For millenia the Free peoples of the Earth have fought the Eye or those that follow the Eye. It is a never ending battle that Rohan hopes to at least contain from time to time so that peace and growth might occur rather than death and darkness year after year.)

(On another note: I don't know how much the Columbians are paying attention to their northern neighbor, but they too are working on turbines for capital ships. In fact the capital ships themselves are about completed. If they actually have those engines installed in them is another matter.)
   
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